Anyone's SOLDIER
by darkcloud777
Summary: My first story ever... Cloud always loved Tifa more than anything else in his life. But does she feel the same and will they ever be together... Cloud/Tifa, post game.
1. Chapter 1 - Victory

**Chapter one : Victory**

"Hey Tifa."

Cloud's words have been directed to beautiful dark haired girl who was sitting across of the little camp fire that has been set up just beyond outskirts of Midgar following the defeat of Sephiroth and miraculous salvation of the planet. The airship was safely anchored near the cliff overlooking the city and group members were comfortably seated around fire, and for the first time since they started travelling together in the quest of saving planet this was fire that had them celebrating around its warming flames instead of usual camp fires that warmed them during countless other nights. For on those other nights fire was source of comfort and means of preparing food for battle weary group but this fire was a symbol of a new life, life free of nightmares and constant readiness to fight. The celebration was small though, because all were still quite exhausted from theirs final battle and no one objected when Cloud suggested they should land close to Midgar to rest. For him it was also fitting that he chose this spot to mark end of their struggle because one huge part had started here – it was this place that Zack died and passed his sword to him that set him on course to the epic quest with other Avalanche members. And now that sword was firmly placed into the ground while the flames erratically reflected from its shiny surface, it was not longer a needed weapon in the fight against evil but a monument now, a monument to one of many friends that has fallen during those dark times they all faced together.

"Umm yes Cloud?" - Tifas` eyes slowly raised from the dancing flames that she was looking at, somewhat lost in her thoughts it seemed to Cloud, and somehow dimmer than usual glow that adorned her crimson eyes. But also the others have fallen in short silence with similar expressions on their faces and eyes, and he wasn't too much surprised about it. Considering amounts of exhaustion from final fight with Sephiroth and amounts of food and drinks that Cid managed to scrounge form Higwind`s stores that they consumed during this little celebration Cloud was actually amazed that they all did not fall asleep already around fire, for once not needing to worry about being ambushed in sleep by long silver haired madman.

"What are you planning to do, are you going to stay with Barret after he gets Marlene from Kalm, or..."

He let his voice trail off, for he really did not know what she wanted to do next, but he knew that where ever she went he wanted to go with her too. Everyone else already stated their plans, and it was not surprising – Yuffie said she needs to go to Wutai to see if everybody is OK, Cid to Rocket town – just to check is that # !% Shera safe and at that statement most of the group silently chuckled which brought only more nasty words from Cid`s embarrassed face which in turn brought even more open laughter that caused him to just shut up abruptly and just light another cigarette of a burning branch from fire while small smile hung in the corner of his lips. Reeve wanted to go to Midgar and help organize some kind of relief for survivors in the town that were now practically left to their own devices since Shinra has collapsed and Barret said that he will help too after he gets Marlene. Nanaki felt need to return to Cosmo canyon and others just nodded to that but when Vincent declared he will stay and help survivors everyone just smiled, the vampire will probably never stop making amends for his past. Only ones that still haven't said their plans were Cloud and Tifa. Both had no real homes now, and Cloud silently hoped Tifa will want to stay in Midgar to help too and he will happily state the same, for all that he ever wanted is to be by her side. He was hiding his real feelings for such a long time that he thought they are going to explode from him and terrify everyone, especially Tifa. He had to hide them, from group members, from Tifa and from world, for his biggest fear was that Sephiroth is somehow going to find about them and then steal her from him, like he stole Aeris and he could not do anything about it. It was a nightmare that was he forced to live in, guilt about loosing dear friend and fear from loosing another, that he cared so much more than just normal friendship or even sisterly love he probably felt for Aeris. No, what he felt for Tifa was something much more, she was his guiding light through everything they gone through, he loved her more than his own life and it was killing him that he couldn't ever show even a hint of those feelings. So he played the part of silent and sombre leader for their group and watched over them, over Tifa more than anything, all the time hiding his tender feelings buried deep inside his heart. But his heart was now swelling out of control, now that threat to all and Tifa was gone, his heart was urging him to scream out of top of his lungs – "I love you Tifa" but he was scared. Scared again, but for different reasons. He was not sure that Tifa feels the same for him, sure she was always the one that was trying to boost everyone's morale when times got darkest, especially Cloud`s, she managed to help him piece his memories back and guide him to proper path but he wasn't sure it was out of love. He hoped more than anything that love drove her to such lengths to help him, much more than she ever helped others, he hoped but he couldn't be sure. But he was determined to find out now that all is over and wanted a chance to let her know what his true feelings for her are. So he just decided to ask her about her plans and agree with her plans and stay near her waiting for opportunity to tell her how he feels...

Tifa`s crimson eyes that he loved so much found his over the fire but she did not answer his question immediately, she first glanced around others eyes that silently waited. Then her eyes dropped to fire again, hiding behind long dark lashes and he couldn't help but feel that something is terribly wrong.

"I..." she started in a bit shaky voice but soon began speaking more firmly. "I know we won and saved the planet and everybody but somehow i don't feel like celebrating, in fact i feel even that i helped save so many lives that i took so many others during our fighting. Yes, i am aware that we all wanted to save planet and stop Sephiroth and Jenova from taking countless lives but sadly many lives were lost through our actions and more importantly to me, by my actions."

No one said a word and they just sat there silently looking at Tifa while she spoke, knowing well what she was talking about, their fight was righteous one and it was needed to fight for greater good but lives of many innocents and much more other lives were part of Lifestream because of their actions. Nobody couldn't help but ask himself were deaths at Sector 7 avoidable, at whole Midgar, Junon and many other places their struggle carried them. Even Shinra soldiers that they faced and killed, most of them were only doing their jobs, oblivious to the greater battle of good and evil that was going on around them. To them the Avalanche members were just a terrorists that needed to be stopped and they charged them blindly. And died, never knowing the truth...

"So" continued Tifa, "even if i know our actions were dictated by events around us i still cannot forgive myself so easily or forget about it." She slowly raised her eyes again and once more looked all of them while she talked. "That is why i decided that in order to have any chance of leading normal life after all that i have done i need to start anew, i will try and help survivors as much as i can but i want to do it alone, i think that fate brought our group together for a reason but now that reason is over and fate wants me to find way to live again, to continue from where my childhood was interrupted and brought into chaos of war. I want to try to find a new life alone and i cannot promise we will stay in touch but i promise i will never forget any of you."

The sense of dread that was slowly building up inside Cloud while he was listening with others has now risen to horror levels inside him while others voices sprang to life around the fire. Yuffie was up on her feet and was stomping angrily while shouting words at Tifa, Barret and Cid were cursing at new found levels about what has gotten into that girl while Nanaki paced around with unusual stiffness in his limbs. Reeve and Vincent remained silent until vampire decided he needs to stand up and calm others a bit "Listen Barret, Cid and especially you Yuffie" – she was now done yelling and started crying freely without shame with her arms wrapped around her, "If Tifa thinks that is the way that she will find peace with herself and hope in new life then we need to respect her decision as true friends need to do, she is not crazy, drunk or mind controlled by Sephiroth" – he flashed menacing glare to Barret who stated such ridiculous thing in his attempts to bring some sense to Tifa. But Barret wouldn't let it go so easily as he returned angry stare at Vincent "Are you crazy now too?! Why she can't find comfort and new life with us, we all share same responsibilities for what happened in the past, this is just exhaustion and sadness talking from her now. Yo Spike, snap out of it and talk some sense into this girl!"

Cloud was paralysed through all of it his mind racing frantically trying to sort this mess out but he was left clueless. All eyes now fell upon him, even Tifa looked straight at him, like in old times everyone once again looked to him for leadership, for guidance, for help. But no one knew that he was not objective on this subject, that his world was crumbling around him, that his only thoughts were that Tifa wants to go away, from everyone and most importantly away from him. He felt darkness once again starting to surround his reality but he had to fight it, he had to try and stop her, tell her everything... He had to fight once again, but this was his most important battle so far, he had to fight not to lose Tifa forever, not now when happiness seemed so close. Cloud mustered all of his will to talk to her :

"Tifa i know you think you are doing the right thing and i respect that but why won't you stay and try it with us, you can stay for a while with any of us, Barret and Marlene would love to have you with them, you can even stay at Cosmo for a while if you like, you and me can go visit Nibelheim or help others in Midgar, i want to..."

But Tifa cut him off before he could continue, before he told her what his heart was screaming for, she did not wanted to listen any more – "I know Cloud, i know all of that, i thought it through, i seriously think this is best for me, all of you have someone or place to go to, to build new future, but i honestly feel that my future is elsewhere. We are all good friends and it will stay so even if we are not in touch, i am sorry but i need to go away from everything that reminds me of the past if i ever want to live normally, i do not know yet where will i live but i do know i want to do it alone.." With those words she stood up and said short goodbye to all and started walking towards Midgar while others just silently looked at her, it was final – Tifa is going away and they all need to accept that.


	2. Chapter 2 - Loss

**Chapter two : Loss**

She was gone. That fact lingered over the group long after last hint of Tifa disappeared in the darkness. They remained silent for quite some time after that but then slowly conversation between them sprang to life. How come no one saw this thing coming, this is not the way how their victorious fight for planet is meant to end, should they try to go after her and reason with her once more or give her some time alone, perhaps some days or more before they went on search to locate Tifa. Or is it simply better to obey her wishes and leave her alone, hoping that she will alone grow to miss them and realize her mistake. Everyone had their opinions about the best course of action except Cloud. He still sat there silent and unmovable like a rock, no one did notice that his heart has gone exactly like that – silent and dead as a rock. His inner struggle what to do still continued inside him, run after Tifa and stop her, tell her his true feelings for her regardless did she felt the same, or just let her be and respect her wishes.

Then, as the others debate reached levels of heated argument Cloud slowly began to rise on his feet. Everyone went silent as they focused gazes on him, in anticipation what their fearless leader that led them through so many victories has decided to do. But for him, as he came to realize it, could be only one course of action. He was always the man of honour even in darkest hours he never acted against others wishes unless they agreed that his decisions are better. Tifa has clearly stated what she wanted no matter what others said to dissuade her and he is going to respect that, no matter how much it broke his heart to watch her leave he will let her go. He had to do so simply because she wanted so and because he always obeyed her wishes. Cloud was Cloud.

His eyes firmly met the gaze of each member of their group individually and then he just silently nodded in unspoken salute and farewell before in one single fluent motion he picked up his sword from the ground, sheathed it behind his back and started to walk toward the wilderness opposite direction to Midgar. Behind him he could hear gasps and perhaps muffled curses from Cid and Barret regarding his abandonment but he was certain that it was best he left without proper goodbyes or explanations before anyone could notice that with Tifa`s departure his world collapsed.

And so it came to pass that once proud and closely bound group of friends called Avalanche was no more as other group members also began to go to their chosen destinations leaved with no other choice since such a sudden departure of Tifa and Cloud. What else could they do? To everyone it somehow seemed that time has come to say goodbye, the purpose of their quest and this group was done - they saved the planet in the end. Victories sometimes indeed looked like losses even after all those battles they managed to win together against all odds...

* * *

That fateful night has still not passed and Cloud was still aimlessly walking through the darkness heading towards his unknown destination. His mind was blank and he walked like a robot not sensing where he was going or what was around him. Any random monster that happened to cross his path and tried to exploit this lonely figure as its next meal was met and fought of more with an instinct of endangered wild animal than with calculated reactions of battle hardened warrior with nearly superhuman strength that he became during battles to save the planet. He even used materias that happened to be on his weapon and armlet when he left the camp purely instinctively without any thought or strategy. If a monster somehow managed to harm him before it could be dispatched he used cure on himself to fully restore wounds not because he wanted to live but because it was a well practised and executed action after every battle that their group suffered injuries during their travels. If any unexpected human observer had seen Cloud that night he would think that he saw a machine and not a person, a machine that senses no pain and has no fear of death.

After few hours of his aimless wondering through night, Cloud came upon a small clearing in the forest with a small creek running nearby. There he finally came to rest, slumping in the relative cover of the roots of a huge tree that rise on the bank of the stream, again not because he was tired but simply because it was a good camp-site that he was trained to recognize in his previous long travels. His still blank mind did not register when he passed from being awake to dreamless sleep nor did he take any precautions from monsters finding him while he slept. If any wandering monster happened to stumble upon his huddled form during this night that would be the end of world`s greatest hero Cloud Strife, saviour of the planet, because on that night there was nobody else to stand watch over him as he slept.


	3. Chapter 3 - Purpose

**Chapter 3 : Purpose**

Darkness has long passed and was replaced with misty dawn in the forest clearing when Cloud awoke. At first he did not know where he was or why he was there. But then he remembered all of the events of previous day. Battle with Sephiroth, destruction of Meteor, Tifa. She has gone, his Tifa is gone. At that thought profound pain flashed through his heart. _His?_ A grim smile appeared on his lips. No. Tifa was never his, he was always hers, Cloud's heart and soul always belonged to Tifa and he would gladly lay his life to protect hers, but she was never "his" she never loved him. Hope that she felt same about him was always alive despite all his fears but now those fears were true and all his hopes were dead. And then it dawned on him that not only all his hopes are dead but also his purpose is dead. Throughout his adult years his purpose of being was stopping the madness that robed him of his childhood dreams and of his mother, then it grew into need to stop the madness that threatened everyone else on this planet not only those he cared about. That purpose was now fulfilled with planet being safe from Sephiroth and Jenova. The only other purpose beside that in his life was Tifa, as long as he could remembered in his life he wanted to impress her, to make her safe and to be close to her, to love her. And he did that too, he kept her safe through all hardships and dangers they faced together but now she was gone, she no longer needed his protection or any other thing from him.

_So where does that leave me and my life_, thought Cloud to himself. _Should i just give up and let be killed by some monster and rejoin lost loved ones in the Lifestream, return to the planet that gave meanings to my life and now took all those meanings away after my mission to protect it was over. Or should i try to find a new meaning, try to find new life somewhere, new someone, new love?_ No, in one thing only has he been certain no matter how lost and confused he now felt, his love for Tifa will never be replaced with love for somebody else, he will love her and only her until his dying breath no matter how hopeless that love has become. It was the way how his being was made, from the first time he saw her now he knew beyond any doubt that his heart belonged to her forever and it was meant to be so.

But where that left him now, what should he do? He felt so lost, more lost than ever in his life. He dropped his head to his chest and whispered : _Please Aeris, Zack, Mom, please tell me what to do now. You always guided me whenever i was lost._ But nobody answered him, only a chilly breeze that drove away the morning mist could be heard rustling leaves of the trees. Cloud was all alone and still didn`t know what to do.

Just then, as he was submerged in his thoughts a lone Elfadunk bull came into the clearing near the creek. Animal was old and has seen many fights as it could be judged by one of his long tusks broken in half, but it was not predatory by nature it probably just came to drink water from the stream. Still, they were known to be very territorial and have short temper when startled and that`s exactly what happened now. As it neared the water it first smelled then saw Cloud`s figure sitting under the tree. Huge bull let out loud trumpet like sound from its trunk raised high in the air before it charged at this creature that seemed to invade its favourite drinking spot. But before its sole undamaged tusk could connect with Cloud`s body he quickly rolled to the side of the animal with his sword ready in hand and delivered a single but powerful blow that passed straight through unsuspecting creatures ribcage and stilled great heart that had beat inside. Blonde warrior stood there looking at now unmoving animal that occupied spot that he was in moments ago. _Is this all there is left in world for me?_ _Only meaningless killings, be it monsters and animals or sentient beings?_ But still he couldn't find no answers to his questions.

As he stood there he realised that his answers will not come now, he was too much lost to find them now. Perhaps he will find them later and for that to happen he needed to continue to function, to live, even for a short while. And to continue to function he needed to eat and drink. Simple as that statement was, simple were his next actions - he used his sword to remove large piece of skin from one of animal`s hind legs and than on the exposed flesh he cast a simple Fire spell that he maintained little longer than usual. Starting a camp fire to better prepare meat was not necessary in his mind, half charred half bloodied sizeable piece of meat that was result of his spell was more than enough to cover basic requirement of food. He cut off one smaller piece and right away started chewing some of it mechanically while he turned his gaze to surface of water which seemed to be perfectly drinkable.

Once again a question directed to himself popped into his mind as he stood there, _Is this what i will be reduced to in the end, just like an animal and its basic needs, food, drink and sleep? _He couldn't help but shake his head in utter desperation at a loss for answers. _No, you will always have love inside your heart, your love will never die no matter what happens to you – _suddenly responded a whispered voice in his mind that somehow sounded like his own but much younger than it was now. _Oh great, i will first go crazy lost in my own mind before anything else happens at this rate, _was his final thought before he finished consuming meat and drank some water afterwards.

With his basic needs fulfilled he no longer wanted to stay at this spot where huge carcass lay in once idyllic forest clearing so he gathered his weapon and once more set in motion, letting his feet guide him in same general direction which he remembered was heading from last night. It did not matter where it lead, he had no goal or destination to go to. Cloud was lost.

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A/N : Whew so much angst with no light anywhere in sight, maybe i am overdoing it so perhaps i could bring in some light in next chapter, we will see :P


	4. Chapter 4 - Memory

**Chapter 4 : Memory**

It was sixth day of Cloud's aimless wanderings since he left the others. Those days passed more or less like a blur to him, he walked through forests, green grassy fields, hills and mountains without really noticing where he is or where he was heading. That mattered little, most of the time he was lost in his thoughts snapping to reality mostly only to fight against any monster that crossed his path or for other basic life necessity. He was always the silent type of person who spoke when he had something meaningful to say, not really liking idle chats and empty talks. So he was accustomed to be most of the time withdrawn with his own thoughts but now he was finding solitude of inside his mind overwhelming. More and more he was finding himself totally lost in memories from his past travels, reliving in his mind time spent with his friends, all the hardships and occasional good times that they had together. And unsurprisingly, most of the good times almost always included times spent with Tifa. Cloud felt so lonely, more than ever in his life, he missed so much the companionship of others that he, unnoticed until now, grew so accustomed to be with. And he missed Tifa more than anything else.

Sun was nearing tips of the mountains that dotted the horizon when he was suddenly snapped out one of those memories by a shrill shriek in the distance. Haze that was covering his azure eyes cleared in an instant and was replaced by greenish hue as he scanned his surroundings for the source of that noise. Then his hearing that was also enhanced by Mako long ago picked up another, less audible cry along with what seemed like sounds of struggle. It was coming from the direction of the nearby forest that was growing at the foothills of surrounding mountains. Without any thought he started running towards that source gaining more and more speed with each long stride as his Mako infused blood faster and faster coursed through his system. In mere seconds he crashed through undergrowth that spread in outskirts of dense forest and skidded to a sudden stop as he reached the site of commotion. In one quick glance he was able to discern whole situation that played out before his eyes, a man and a woman, age perhaps in their thirties, were surrounded by the pack of hungry grey wolves. Woman was on her knees with her back cornered to a tree and letting out occasional cry while the man stood in front of her holding a long wooden pole while desperately trying to fend of incoming attacks. His battle was a loosing one, his left hand already loosing grip on impromptu wooden weapon and a long gash through which blood was rapidly flowing out could be seen on it.

Cloud's eyes flashed more green as he approached crazed animals with his sword drawn out, noticing how empty their stomachs looked and how easily ribs and bones could be seen under dark manes. This pack was starving and it couldn't be scared away. Only death will end this battle. Animals did not fail to notice his arrival to the scene, and at first they divided their attention between the trapped pair and this new intruder. But as each individual attack on Cloud was met with failure and muffled yelp of dying wolf, more and more of them turned to this dangerous human until whole of the pack now turned on him trying to bring him down in unison, as wolves usually successfully did. However, this opponent seemed to be more than a match for them and every attempt to distract him from the front while others tried to sneak from behind and deliver deadly strike was methodically met with his deadly blade. As more and more pack members fell motionless remaining animals entered feral rage, discarding all sense of strategy and threw themselves at this lonely but so dangerous figure. But not a single bite could land on him, Cloud entered a trance like state dancing and dodging strikes, rolling on the forest floor or jumping aside to avoid exposed fangs all the while his whistling blade sang the song of death, cleaving limbs and torsos of crazed animals.

Both man and woman stared at this spectacle that unfolded before their eyes, unable to turn eyes away from this dance of death. Never before did they saw someone so swift, so powerful, this stranger seemed confident in his abilities but still it looked like he had no regard to his own safety as death was many times milliseconds away from him, deadly jaws often missing him by hair's width. Neither of them would ever forget this scene, watching what it now seemed animals fighting on both sides for their lives. For this stranger in front of them now looked more like an animal, primal emotions showing on his face while his eyes shined bright green, an colour that no human eyes could ever have possessed. But then, seemingly as rapid as it started, the fight was over, there the man stood with his weapon ready in his arms surrounded with corpses of his fallen enemies. Man turned his wooden weapon towards the stranger, not knowing if this possessed fighter will now try to harm them as well. His fears were unfounded though, as Cloud's deep breaths grew shallower so did lessen green glow in his eyes and they returned to its more usual blue colour.

Cloud sheathed his sword, wiping it first clean of blood against one of wolves hides, then approached the man who still stood at ready, not trusting yet his actions. But Cloud pointed first at materias embedded in his armlet before raising it towards man and the man nodded in acceptance, understanding that this stranger meant them no harm. A bright green glow shone out from one the materias, not much different from glow that adorned fighter's eyes only moments ago as he directed its healing powers towards injured man's hand. The bleeding has stopped and wound properly closed through actions of planet's powers hidden in healing materia, but the wound would probably need to be stitched and bandaged later to prevent it from reopening again. Satisfied of materia's effect Cloud turned his attention toward the woman to see if she needed help also but no injuries could be seen, only deep fear and horror from previous event could be seen in hers tearful brown eyes.

"You two should be safe now" shortly said Cloud as he turned and started to walk away not wanting to remain here any longer than it was needed.

"W-wait" said the man stopping Cloud in his tracks, "we didn't even thank you for helping us here, if it wasn't for you we would both be dead."

Woman now also joined in attempt to thank the stranger – "Yes, both of us can not ever repay you enough for what you did to save us, our small village is not very far from here, let us at least repay you a little by inviting you to stay with us for the night, food and resting place will be more than gladly shared with you" while man eagerly nodded his head in agreement.

For a moment Cloud stood there not knowing should he accept their kind invitation. This woman's melodic voice and dark brown eyes that pleadingly looked at him reminded him of Tifa's voice and eyes somehow, and although he felt very lonely and somewhat in need of food and rest he shook his head in declination - "No, thank you both for invitation but i am all right" as he again turned away from them and soon disappeared in darkening woods.

Both woman and man were left dumbstruck at this strange man's arrival and disappearance. "Come love, we should be heading to the village now, it will be dark soon and maybe more of animals are close by" said the man as he raised his eyes to the rapidly darkening skies that could be seen through the trees. Then he offered silent prayer to Gaia that it had put this unexpected saviour in their path as they both started to head in the direction of the village.

As those two figures slipped out from range of Cloud's enhanced senses slight smile for a blink of an eye appeared on his otherwise grim face, for a brief moment he was glad that he managed to save those two human lives. Abruptly, he stopped in his tracks and reversed his direction, because sudden desire took over him. He now wanted to follow those two to the village in order to assure himself that they safely arrived home in case some other animals decided to prey upon them. Cloud could not help but wonder what sudden urge compelled him to do so and only reason he could come up with was wish that at least for today, no human should die unnecessarily. There was too many deaths in Cloud's wake, both during these days of his solitude and in his past, for one day he wanted to bring safety to others.

What Cloud did not realize though, as he easily caught up with sounds that two humans were leaving in their wake and started to follow them from a safe distance, was that as much as he missed company of others he also missed bringing safety to others, that habit of helping others has become so ingrained into his being that he was not even aware of it. Old habits die hard.


	5. Chapter 5 - Belong

**Chapter 5 : Belong**

Night has almost fully fallen by the time the duo that Cloud was following has reached the village. They disappeared from his view into one of humble houses that were spread through little village. From what he could observe in almost complete darkness that now surrounded him this one looked like many others he encountered in his travels. A small and isolated community of humans closely knit in their daily lives where life was much different from cities bursting with activity. Even if such villages usually weren't much smaller than his Nibelheim life was simpler and harder in them because they did not have benefit from Mako reactor which his birth town had. That also usually meant no shops, restaurants or other amenities, only with occasional inn that accommodated any needs that rare visiting travellers had. He currently could not discern such a structure in this village that would represent an inn, but it wasn't of much importance to him for it was not his intention anyway to stay here even if village had one. Simply content that man and woman safely reached their destination Cloud has put some distance from himself and the village before he settled to spend the night in the wilderness.

With first rays of sunlight he has awoken from his slumber and at first intended to continue further just like he did during previous days. But somehow as he started walking again he felt less of the drive to continue and decided that for the time being he will remain in the general vicinity of the village. After all, he had no specific destination to go to so it was not important to him to whether he remained in one area longer than a day. If nothing it gave him more time to be immersed in thoughts and memories but with one subtle difference, relative proximity to other humans made him miss his friends even more, it made him feel more alone than usual.

As the day uneventfully dragged on Cloud found him self wishing that he was now in the church where he met Aeris for the first time and which he knew she frequented often. Something made him feel that in there, in that holy place spirits of his departed friends could visit him more easily than here, if only for a brief moment. But that place was far away from him now just like everything else from his life and he once again slipped from any meaningful thoughts into his memories.

And then it finally happened. Cloud was completely unaware of impending doom and was caught totally of guard by enemy that stalked him. This enemy was much more dangerous, intelligent and powerful than other monsters blonde warrior dispatched with relative ease during previous days. To fight such a foe on equal terms one would need to be fully prepared and ready to fight. Cloud was not.

First blow came from a vicious claw that made deep gashes in his right leg that was most exposed part of his body while he sat before attack with his back resting against a tree. Painful groan was his first reaction to that surprise strike but he immediately rolled aside to gain some distance from assailant. But it was not enough to give him time to better meet next strike, Cloud only managed to discern identity of his enemy before another blow from huge claws connected with his shoulder. It was a fully grown Behemoth that relentlessly followed and attacked him while he desperately tried to get to feet and draw his weapon. Cloud fought them before, and knew how dangerous they were, not only did they use massive claws, horns and jaws but their battle repertoire included deadly spells also. And to make things worse this beast was experienced hunter, just like he was, and seemingly did not want to give him any chance to fight back after successfully catching him off guard.

That resulted in more and more wounds on Cloud's body while he struggled to fight back and by the time he managed to stand up and start blocking incoming blows with his weapon he already felt half drained of strength and only thing that kept him standing was his Mako enhanced system. Half stumbling while blocking strikes Cloud tried to gain enough distance from melee to cast Cure spell on him self but beast never gave him that chance. And he also realized even if he did get that pause beast would not stand idly it would use its Flare spell to finish him off before any healing could be done. That made him change strategy on the fly, now with each block Cloud searched openings to strike back within same move and that resulted in few hits on hulking beast. But effect was negligible, sword strikes simply did not have enough power behind them after blocks and this fight will be soon over for him unless something changed fast. Only option that veteran warrior now saw was one final gamble, he would need let his guard down and risk everything in one finishing blow.

Thus as next strike came, this time low charging attack with horns, Cloud did not attempt to block and divert it with blade and instead made half turn and sidestep with his blade outstretched to reach monster's vulnerable underbelly. Much to his surprise he succeeded but not without great cost, as his sword sank deep in monster's flesh already did its horns bury deep in Cloud's lower back. Behemoth roared in pain and with one move flung this unyielding human from its horns. Cloud was thrown far away and roughly landed on the ground, but beast did not charge immediately on him it was first trying to remove with its claws the blade that was stuck into it almost to the hilt. As it succeeded and turned it attention again to figure that was lying on the ground beast's glare was suddenly blinded by bright flash and its whole skin started to burn in intense red flames. It let out another deafening roar in disbelief that this tiny human could cause so much pain. Then it collapsed to the ground with a loud thud, still not believing that human prey killed it with just two strong attacks.

But Cloud still lying on the ground did not see that, he did not know if his Fire spell managed to finish off the monster. Deep darkness already covered his eyes and his heart fought hard to keep beating in his broken body. It could not, injuries were too grave, and with his last breath he let out one final word, final prayer - "Tifa."

His heart gave one last beat before it too stopped still. And then nothingness consumed him and only two solid forms of combatants remained on the ground.

* * *

Somewhere around the same time that this battle played out the doors of the very same church that Cloud remembered previously slowly crept open. Through them first appeared one high laced boot then a young face too peered inside. Eyes quickly scanned interior and then wide grin stretched across her face when she spotted the target she was searching inside. Swiftly young ninja ran inside yelling happily: "Hiya Teef, did you miss me!?"

The target of her overly loud greeting turned sharply surprised by the unexpected intrusion. Long raven black hair splayed itself across her beautiful face as a result of that sudden movement and she removed it with her fingers. She replied only with a question of her own – "Hi Yuffie, what are you doing here?"

Young thief stopped in front of Tifa while making mock annoyed face: "Aww your no fun, is that the way to greet your best female friend? Besides isn't it obvious what i'm doing here, searching for you silly." exclaimed Yuffie while she at the same time scanned more of church interior.

"But how did you find me and didn't i state clearly that i want to be left alone when i left so you shouldn't have a reason to search for me."

Now genuine annoyance appeared on Yuffie's face as she answered to barrage of questions with her own barrage – "Duh Teef what kind of ninja you think i am. Finding you was simple matter of browsing through places i thought you could be revisiting and although it took me some time i did. As for that nag nag i wanna be alone and no reason to search for me, i know what you said before you left. But i wanted to, you know, to check how are you doing all alone and to also update you how others are doing. But as i can see you are doing OK and were rather busy tidying up this place. Part of paying respect to the passed ones and a little bit repaying past sins i guess" said she as they both turned gazes to scan repairs Tifa was making these past days to previously abandoned church. It looked much better now, everything was clean, free of dust and debris that gathered over time. Only things that at first sight seemed out of place were large flowery bed in centre of building and a hole in the roof directly above flowers. But both women knew those things perfectly belonged to this church as memories of the time when Aeris and Cloud first met here.

Memory of Aeris brought sadness to both of their eyes so Yuffie hurried to continue her speech: "So, seeing you are OK alone for now let me inform you how are others. Everyone else is good and they are pretty much doing what they planed to do, oh and Barret got Marlene from Kalm and brought her back to Midgar and she said she misses you and would love to see you again!" hurriedly exclaimed ninja as she remembered what Marlene said to her few days ago. She did not miss to notice smile on Tifa's face as she heard news of little girl. But then Yuffie continued: "Everyone is good except... except for Cloud" she finally let it out while intently looking for reaction at this news on Tifa.

Sure enough, a look of deep worry passed over martial artist's face as she struggled with words – "C-cloud? What is wrong with Cloud?"

"Oh nothing, he just left us without a word shortly after you left." sneakily spoke ninja as she even more intently scanned Tifa's face.

"B-but why would he leave like that, you guys could have continued your celebration after i left" even more stammered with words Tifa as confusion clearly showed in her face.

At those words Yuffie couldn't take it any more and started to jump up and down in one place as she nearly yelled at Tifa: "For heaven's sake woman, sometimes you are as dense as that chocobo head! Am i the only adult one around here!? It's obvious he is gone because you left us, and why? Well let me tell you why 'cos you seriously don't get it. I wasn't sure how much you meant to him before but when you left there was no doubt in me after seeing how much your departure hurt and broke him. And now after seeing that crestfallen look in your eyes i'm pretty sure he means a lot to you too!"

After hearing those words Tifa slowly slumped on her knees right there where she stood. Long streaks of tears started to mar her delicate skin and soul rending sobs began to shake her figure.

"But...he...never...said...anything... he... never... showed...anything" somehow escaped from her mouth in between deep sobs. Now Yuffie started to cry also and she knelt down to hold Tifa in gentle embrace and tried to comfort her: "Teef he did say and show things, just like you did from time to time but it was well hidden, for what reasons i do not know only you two could know that. What i didn't know is that those hidden things would lead eventually to this mess you two are in now."

Slowly Tifa's sobs lessened and she started to calm down in Yuffie's embrace, but the tears wouldn't stop so easily as she raised her eyes to Yuffie. A hint of determination could be seen through the tears. "I have to call him right now" stated Tifa as she fumbled with her hand to find her PHS in the pockets of her leather clothes. Yuffie could only silently nod in agreement through her own tears as she watched her. Slender brunette's hands found the item she searched for in one of many pockets and with shaky hands quickly dialled Cloud's number. Then she raised it to her ear while multitude of emotions could be seen on her face during her wait for connection to establish. But only anxiety and worry remained after moments passed and she lowered the device from her ear.

"It...it says user is unreachable" whispered Tifa weakly as even more tears began to flow from her pained eyes. "Don't worry Teef, his battery is maybe empty or, or probably he turned it off that spiky headed idiot." tried to reason Yuffie but Tifa only shook her head in disagreement.

"No Yuffie, Mako powered cells last for months and i know he always took care to replace them much sooner than they would gone empty. And i somehow feel that he didn't turn it off either. I ... i feel something must have happened to him, something has happened to Cloud!" exclaimed Tifa as nothing more than utter horror could be seen in her beautiful eyes.


	6. Chapter 6 - Reunion

**Chapter 6 : Reunion**

Tifa angrily slammed her fist on the table - "Damn it Barret how you can say that!"

Barret and Cid, who was also present at the moment in the Higwind's meeting room, visually flinched at that. Neither man was accustomed seeing such outbursts from her, it emphasized how troubling was her mental state at the moment. True enough, before Barret could answer Tifa's anger was replaced with despair as she slumped back into her chair.

"Im sorry, i didn't mean to blame you. It's all my fault. If i hadn't tried to act strong, if i didn't go..." She lifted her eyes to them, once more they were at the brink of tears – "I didn't want to bind him to my selfish emotions, to silly childhood promises, as much i was tormented with sins from my past i was tormented seeing him bound only by honor to a person that was not in his heart. I thought that his heart belonged only to Aeris, i never knew..." she could not continue any more as tears that flowed freely silenced her words.

Men glanced at each other. Without words they knew how carefully they need to deal with her, it was clear that she was in a very fragile emotional state. And dark bags under her eyes told them that she probably had almost no sleep during past three days of unsuccessful search for Cloud.

Barret cleared his throat trying to find best words not to cause more distress to her. Gods, how he wished if he could be fighting monsters instead of comforting hurt female. It was not something that muscular fighter was familiar doing. But she was a dear, close friend and he had to try to comfort her as best as he could.

"Listen Tifa, all i said was that we cannot find him but that didn't mean that we will give up searching or that we wont find him in the end. It's just as if he vanished, we looked everywhere so far without success. Who knows how far he could have gone by now, if he caught a chocobo he could be gone much further, maybe even on another continent more likely. That's why others are searching on other continents now and we will be expanding our circular pattern over area that we last saw him. You and Yuffie have checked Midgar upside down during three days and i don't think he is anywhere in there too. But please don't give up hope, we will find him i promise."

Through tears Tifa willed her self to give Barret a weak smile: "Thank you Barret, i believe you. I only hope we will find him in time..."

Cid stepped in after she went silent again – "But why are you so certain that something is wrong with him, i'm not saying that because i think we are on needles search – you know we would always gladly help to search regardless if he is in trouble or not. I'm just saying that you are probably worrying your self crazy without a reason, Cloud is a strong man you know and he can take care of him self."

"I can not explain how i know something is wrong, all i can tell you is that when i ask my heart it tells me that he is in danger. Please believe me, i am not just going crazy." she looked at them pleadingly.

Barret flashed an angry glare at Cid as he spoke to Tifa: "We believe you Teef, of course you are not crazy Cid didn't mean it like that."

Cid nodded as he agreed "All right no one is crazy, i said so in the first place, but if you don't get some sleep soon you will start hallucinating for real."

"How can i sleep if i know we are making no progress in finding him?" shook Tifa her head stubbornly.

Now Barret smashed his good hand on the table then immediately apologized "Sorry Teef. I only wish his damned phone is working, we could make more progress easily, just triangulate his position even if he doesn't answer with it."

Suddenly Tifa jumped to her feet from the chair and both men were frightened if she finally lost it. "That's it! Why haven't i think of it sooner, we can triangulate his last known position from time when his phone last was on. That would narrow our search on his current location significantly!" excitedly spoke Tifa with renewed hope in her eyes.

"I guess it could work" mumbled Cid before turning to her: "It will work but i have a request first. We will head to PHS company HQ immediately to get those data and then head to last known location but until we get there you will be sleeping. You need to sleep in order to continue search when we get there so Barret will cast sleep on you and i promise we will wake you when we get there."

As ridiculous it sounded casting sleep on a friend Tifa and Barret only silently nodded in agreement without protest.

* * *

Blue eyes blinked open. Nothing but darkness greeted them.

_Where am i? Am i dead? Is this heaven? - _questions sparked inside the lone mind.

A gentle touch from a hand to his shoulder brought answers: "You are not dead yet. This is a place deep inside your mind where i can come to talk to you."

Voice was very comforting and strangely familiar to him. Then it dawned on him: "M..mother? Mom is that you, why can't i see you!?"

"In this place you cannot see me, i was sent here to guide you. You have been lost my son."

Cloud wanted to cry but he could not. He wanted to hug his mother but could not do that either, his body was strangely detached from him here. All he could do is lay still and listen to the voice that he hadn't heard in such a long time.

"I am here to pass you a message. You will never be alone no matter how lost you are. I will always be with you and your father will too. And your friends also, Aeris and Zack are always with you."

"Father, Aeris, Zack, why can't i speak with them too?"

"You will speak with them when time comes, for now i am the only one here. I am here to let you know that we all are very proud of you, so proud of a man you have become. You have done much more that could be expected from anyone and you never failed to fulfil those expectations. One day you will reunite with us but that day has not yet come. You need to wake up."

"But i don't want to wake up, i want to stay here with you. I miss you so much mom." pleaded Cloud.

"And we also miss you and love you so much my son, but as i said it is not yet your time to join us. Listen to your heart, it will lead you to the place that you belong to. And remember you are never alone. Now wake up."

As those words faded Cloud blinked again and this time his eyes were greeted with shimmering light from a candle. Fog from his eyes was lifting slowly as he tried to gather were he is. It looked like some cave with scarce furniture and a simple bed that he was lying in. He tried to get up but sharp pain throughout his whole body stopped him in that attempt and he collapsed back into bed.

"Whoa youngster, take it easy will you i don't want my hard work these past days to be for nothing."

On the other side of cave Cloud spotted the person that unknown voice belonged to, an old man who was apparently busy over cooking pot preparing a meal.

"Where am i, who are you?" – demanded Cloud.

Man seemed to study him a bit before he responded: "You are probably very confused right now so i will try to explain slowly. Five days ago i found you in the forest lying near dead Behemoth. I used your Revive and Cure materias on you and it worked but i guess if i was minutes late they wouldn't work, you were seriously injured and lost a lot of blood. I made a stretcher and dragged you here into my cave and tended your wounds more while you was in coma. I didn't know if you would ever come out of it, i had no way knowing is your brain too damaged by the time i revived you. Luckily it wasn't as i see but your injuries are still not fully healed, it will take more time for torn muscles and tendons in your back to recover completely. Seems monster got you there really good. Do you feel your legs now and can you move them?" asked him the man.

Cloud tested them and nodded affirmatively but still he couldn't use them to get up. Pain was too strong and immobilizing and he groaned.

Man continued as he saw that: "Pain is good kid, it means it will heal you just need to rest until it does. By the way, we have met previously. Around half a year ago you and your friends had come by my cave and you spent a night here resting. I even gave you a gift – a piece of Mithril ore i found in caves" - chuckled the old man as he returned his attention back to the stew that was cooking in the pot. He glanced in Cloud's direction and saw recognition dawning on him. Still chuckling he spoke again: "Now just rest there until i finish this stew and then we can talk some more after you have eaten."

Cloud wanted to remember or ask more but his weakened body did not cooperate, he felt his mind slipping back into the dream world long before that stew was finished. Sleep was a welcome thing for his tormented body and soul.


	7. Chapter 7 - Tifa

**Chapter 7 : Tifa**

"Wake up Tifa".

She slowly opened her sleepy eyes and saw Barret standing beside her bed. Then she remembered. "Did you get the location, are we there yet?" hurriedly she asked Barret as she sprang up from the bed.

"Easy Teef, yes we did get it and we will be there soon. I woke you up a little early so you can get yourself ready and also have some food, you need it as you needed the sleep." said Barret as he scanned her slender figure that seemed more thin than usual.

"Thank you Barret, i will" she gave him a little smile. Then she gave him a strong hug. "Thank you for always being such a good friend to me."

"Always Teef, you know i always thought of you more like a daughter then just a friend." He could hear small sob escaping from her while he still held her in a comforting embrace. "Don't worry everything will be OK, now go and get ready while Cid and me find a landing spot." Tifa only nodded in response.

A little later as the Higwind has settled on the ground she joined two men on the bridge of the airship. Cid greeted her and asked: "Morning, you and Barret will be searching on the ground but do you want me to search in the air or should i first go and get rest of the gang here?"

Tifa thought for a moment before she answered "It will take too much time to get them here. Besides, we don't know if he is long gone from this location so i want the search to continue on other places."

"All right then off you two go and ill signal if i spot anything from above. Head north, the spot his PHS was last tracked shouldn't be very far from this landing spot."

As Barret and Tifa exited from airship it went up in the air again but it maintained not too high altitude so any details on the ground would be more visible. It sped ahead of duo that followed in same direction at a quick pace. Barret mumbled more to himself but nevertheless Tifa overheard him say "He won't be able to spot much in all these forests from the air..." She could only silently pray to the planet that their search from air and ground will yield some results.

Soon they reached edge of the forest and entered into it, walking separated and looking for anything out of order but still in viewing distance of each other in case some monsters ambush them. The airship was now obscured from their sight but its engines could be heard from time to time as it flew around in a search pattern. Hopefully sound from engines will scare away most of the monsters in their path, Tifa was not much concerned that Barret and her wont be able to defend them selves but she did not want any unnecessary delays to slow their search.

Not long into their trek through forest they came upon a small clearing in it. There Tifa's eyes spotted carcass of a monster, Behemoth it seemed, almost half eaten by scavengers but now none of them could be seen around it. She ran towards it, sensing that maybe it could have been killed by Cloud. As she came close to it an awful stench of decomposition hit her nostrils but it did not deter her from closely examining it and the scene around it. Barret quickly joined her as he saw what drew her attention. Both of them judged the carcass and only evident cause of death was some kind of fire spell that still showed on the blackened remains. Any other signs of injury were removed by scavengers as they consumed the beast's flesh. Then Tifa noticed dried red blood that covered monster's horns almost to their base and she shuddered. This monster did not go down before it impaled something on its deadly horns, heavily injuring or perhaps even something worse to its opponent. Now Tifa hoped more than anything that Cloud wasn't that opponent. But her hopes were shattered as she spotted something not far away from the corpse.

Like in the trance she slowly walked to the object she saw and knelt on the ground beside it. With trembling hands she collected pieces of what was beyond any doubt Cloud's now destroyed phone and pressed them against her chest in some kind of embrace. "Barret..." she only whispered to the big man and could not speak any more, tears and emotions running wild again. Barret knelt beside her and embraced her shoulders with his good hand.

"Don't cry Teef yea its Spikey's phone but neither he or his remains aren't here, so please don't lose hope yet." As much as he tried to comfort her only more cries escaped her along with a single shaky word: "R...remains"

Barret decided to let her vent her emotions as he turned to scan more of the site and shared what he could see with her as he walked around. "Cloud normally could dispatch Behemoth without much problem so he was either somehow weakened or caught unaware. Anyway he did not give up without a fight" concluded Barret as he spotted blood trails on several spots on the ground. "Whatever the case i cannot see any other sign of his belongings so that's a good sign."

Tifa raised her teary eyes to him at those words and he continued: "It's a good sign, if scavengers did took his remains then his weapon and other things too would be still left here. It must mean that either he alone walked from here or someone took him from here. There is still good hope Teef."

Somewhat invigorated with Barret's words Tifa stood up from the ground, taking care to store remains of Cloud's phone in her pockets like they were most valuable items she found and not just worthless broken equipment. She now joined Barret in a more thorough examination of the site. Although elements erased most of tracks they did find some tracks and it seemed Cloud's boots were not only ones that left foot prints in softer areas of terrain. And then they saw definite signs that Cloud was taken away by somebody from here, there on the ground not far from battle site could be clearly seen leftover pieces of makeshift wooden stretchers and two lines in the ground they left as Cloud was dragged away on them. A breath of renewed hope crawled into Tifa's heart. Without any further delay she and Barret started following those tracks and they were fortunately easy to follow, weather did remove some parts of them but not enough to cause two experienced fighters to lose track of them. As they walked Barret took out his phone and in brief updated Cid what they found. Tifa did not listen that, she was immersed in her own thoughts.

* * *

Cloud stirred in his sleep and woke up. His still felt great pain in his aching body but it seemed to be lessened compared to before sleep. Seeing that his patient has awaken old man who rescued him talked to Cloud again: "Hi kid, hope you feel a little better" and as Cloud nodded in confirmation he continued: "Sadly the stew is not hot now as i like to have it but i kept it warm enough over fire for you to eat now. Here, let me help you sit more upright in the bed." He helped Cloud to get in more raised position as he slipped one more pillow behind blonde's back, trying not to cause him too much pain in the process. Then he brought a chair next to the bed and put on it a bowl of warm stew along with some bread.

"Sorry that's modest food but it's all i got. Will you be able to eat by yourself?" Cloud nodded in response as he reached his hand toward food and took it in his lap.

"Good, seems you can manage to eat without my help." He continued to talk while he watched Cloud slowly start to eat: "So, looks like you and your group managed to stop Meteor and save the planet. Must be a helluva story, right? Maybe you will get to tell it to me while you are recovering here. And also you getting here all alone is another story itself i guess. Although, you don't seem to be the talkative type" chuckled old man.

Seeing that Cloud is still eating silently and without need for assistance he raised from his own chair and stated: "All right, seems you are fine for now, i need to briefly go to the village and get more supplies. Don't worry, i wont be away for long, when you finish your meal just leave bowl there on the chair, ill pick it up and clean it when i get back."

This time Cloud did respond to his words with his own ones: "Thank you for everything, i hope i am not too much trouble for you."

"Ah don't mention it kid. Anyway it's nice to have company for a change, even if that company cant move on it's own or talks much." spoke back the old man before he went out of the cave while his chuckling could still be heard from outside.

With a sigh Cloud continued to eat his meal. It wasn't anything special but it still was much better than anything he ate in past days. As he finished it and put the bowl on the chair he couldn't help himself from thinking that still Tifa's meals were best things he ever ate. Tifa. As he positioned more comfortably in bed and removed extra pillow below his back he once more found himself asking same questions he asked every day since she has left. _Where is she. Is she all right. Is she happy. Does she ever think of me..._

Now with his stomach filled and again alone with his thoughts he felt his body once more giving in to the healing powers of sleep. Memory of beautiful Tifa's face was last thing he remembered before he dozed off.

* * *

Somewhat later he woke up again. Cave was empty and silent, Cloud did not know for how long he slept but old man was still not back. As he looked around the hermit's humble cave Cloud suddenly spotted a figure standing in a dimly lit cave entrance. He could not discern who was there and quickly looked around to see are his weapon and materias within his reach. They were out of his reach, propped along the opposite wall of the cave. He looked at the figure again and it had moved closer. Now recognition dawned upon him. That figure there looked exactly like Tifa! What was this, his mind playing tricks with him? Or he was still asleep and dreaming. Or somehow Sephiroth came to life again and decided to play with his tortured mind.

But then as Cloud was frozen with his mind racing the figure ran to him and crashed into him, squeezing him tightly in embrace while he still defencelessly lied down in the bed. _Definitely still a dream or a ghost conjured to torment me_, continued to think Cloud.

And then a sweet voice could be heard from her lips as she lifted her head that had rested on his shoulder: "Cloud it's me, don't you recognize me?"

No ghost could have such lovely voice realized he and in no dream could embrace hurt his wounded body so much.

"T..Tifa your embrace, it's hurting me." was the only thing he managed to say.

Joy that he recognized her sparkled in her eyes but was fast replaced with fear that she was hurting him and she lifted from embrace quickly. " I'm so sorry Cloud, are you hurt much?" she asked worryingly but seemed not to wait for his answer as her emotions completely took over her actions. "I finally found you!" she exclaimed and once more hugged him tightly. Loud groan snapped her from it and she forced her self away from embrace again "Oh gods i hurt you again, forgive me Cloud!"

"It's okay Tifa, i can endure it", weakly smiled Cloud.

Both of them now silently looked at each other eyes, Cloud lying in the bed and Tifa sitting beside him.

It was Cloud that spoke first – "Tifa why are you here and how did you find me?" but was shocked to see what his words caused her to do. Waterfall of tears started to flow from her perfect wine eyes and pain flashed through his soul because he managed to make her cry. She could not look at him any more and again hid her face on his shoulder, this time being careful that her embrace doesn't hurt him again.

"I... I was an idiot, no I AM an idiot. I wanted to be strong, not needy, and didn't wont to burden you any more with silly promises and selfish desires and look what i managed to do. I left and look what happened because of that, you are so much hurt because of me. You...you could have been dead because of me!" cried Tifa in anguish hidden from his eyes with her face still buried on his shoulder.

Cloud gently lifted her head up so she could look him in the eyes again before he answered seriously: "Yes Tifa you were an idiot, but i was much bigger one. I never should have let you leave like that, i should have listened to my heart and stop you at any cost. Because you are not my death, you are my life. I can't exist without you..." spoke Cloud softly to Tifa while he gently wiped tears from her cheeks. But she started to cry and shake even more after hearing his words: " I'm so sorry Cloud, will you ever forgive me, i love you so much, i always loved you more than anything else but was so scared to show it..."

Cloud gently put a finger to her lush lips to silent her and then lowered her head towards him as he started to dry her tears with his lips until he placed them on her lips, it was this gentle kiss that calmed her more than anything and her strained body finally relaxed in his arms enough to hear him say the words that she always dreamed she would hear from him: "I love you too Tifa, forgive me for keeping it a secret for so long."

A smile forming on her lips was his biggest reward ever, he missed that smile so much and remembered how he thought he would never see it again. Cloud was so happy that he was wrong, and a smile of his own appeared on his lips.

A gruff voice coming from the cave entrance interrupted them in their joyous moment and Cloud looked towards it only to see Barret leaning on cave wall with wry smile on his face: "If you two love-birds are done with your happy reunion for now let me tell both of you this: next time you two idiots decide to play hide and seek with each other please leave the rest of the gang out of it. And if you think this is scolding just wait till Cid and Yuffie get here!"

He started laughing loudly as he went outside cave wanting to give them bit more time alone and also he didn't want any of them to see him wipe a tear that against his will appeared on his face. Barret only shook his head in disbelief and mumbled to himself: "Those kids will be the death of me i swear." Joyous laughing from inside the cave told him the opposite and he couldn't help but also laugh more.

Tifa turned to Cloud and looked him in the eyes again, she simply couldn't drink enough of them, those blue mako eyes she loved so much. "So, where does that leave us, the two young idiots as Barret politely stated?" she mischievously asked Cloud.

His response was only: "And they lived happily ever after", before he drew her closer for a kiss once again...

The End

A/N: They lived happily ever after until Cloud gets geostigma, but that is another story, for now i am happy i managed to complete this one. It wasn't easy to complete because it was my first one and i had many writer's blocks, also it was hard to keep it inside limits of game and AC. I think that even if they confessed love now it doesn't disagree from AC much because Cloud's love for Tifa made him leave during geostigma infection in order to save her from pains looking helplessly at it. Anyway i know this Cloud/Tifa story isn't nearly as good as others i have read, both in plot depth and writing technique, but i am content how it turned out and hope some of readers will enjoy it too.


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